Being Human
by WorldsWorthlessToy
Summary: She shivered. The thin emergency blanket she was covered with was meant to save body warmth, but she was cold like ice. “Kakashi?” Her voice was hoarse. “Where is Sasuke-kun?” “He got away.” She lowered her head. XXX M for safety.


Scarlet.

This was what Sakura saw. A scarlet sky. She blinked. It couldn´t be scarlet. The sky wasn´t red. Not _this _red at least. She looked around. Everything had lost its colour, everything was black and white, save for the scarlet staining the sky and her hands. She looked down on the shaking hands that were attached to her arms; by no means was it possible that these were her hands.

"Don´t believe it."

Sakura shot up and looked around, searching for the source of the voice, but nobody was there. Where was she anyway? It looked like the field she and Kakashi had been fighting Sasuke on before she passed out, but there was no Kakashi, no Sasuke, nobody whatsoever.

"Don´t believe what you see."

She jumped to her feet and looked around. Suddenly she heard a dripping sound right next to her ear. Even before she could move, the grass under her sandals became fluid and shimmering. She was standing on water. Suddenly she was unable to move, her every limb tied to something solid behind her.

"No! It´s not real!"

And then, finally, there was someone. Not the someone she wanted to see when she was tied, confused and scared though. Sasuke approached her, pulling out his sword. "Sasuke… kun…" He didn´t even seem to hear her.

Then he stabbed her. She squeezed her eyes shut, the pain burning deep into her core, ripping something within her apart. She screamed. She couldn´t even concentrate on her chakra to heal herself. Her chakra seemed to be non-existant.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke spun around, his until now impassive face gaining the expression of utter shock. There, on the water, probably half a mile away, stood Kakashi.

"Don´t believe it! It´s not the truth!"

It was Kakashi who shouted. He ran towards them, but no matter how many steps he took, he didn´t seem to come any closer at all. Sakura felt tears of pain and forsaken hopes burn in her eyes. How was it that nobody seemed to get through to Sasuke, nobody was able to make him listen, make him see?

"Kakashi…sensei…"

He had told her to drop the honorific as they became ANBU partners, but it was a habit she had been unable to abandon. He had told her again after their first kiss, but somehow Sasuke´s presence was able to make her forget they weren´t teacher and student anymore. She blinked, staring at him as he ran and ran and yet didn´t approach her. Sasuke turned around again. "It doesn´t matter why he managed to get into the genjutsu", he said. "He won´t be able to help you anyway."

"Aaah!" _Not real. A genjutsu. Not real. This is not real._

"There is no use in telling yourself it isn´t real", Sasuke said. "It won´t lessen the pain. Kakashi of all people should know that." "Sasuke…kun… don´t…" He didn´t listen to her. He stabbed on. Kakashi was still unable to come closer. Sakura closed her eyes. If she wasn´t mistaken she wouldn´t get out of here any time soon.

Scarlet on her clothes. And on the ropes holding her to the solid thing behind her. And on Sasuke´s hands, some even on his cheek, right under his swirling sharingan eye. Scarlet on his sword… Sakura wished she would faint, but she wasn´t able to. She looked up at the scarlet skies and the colorless trees around the clearing as her former comrade tore her insides apart just to let them heal and do it again.

--

Sakura expected that after she fainted – three days later – she would slowly wake in the hospital and someone would be there telling her what happened to Sasuke and Kakashi, someone would check the drip she was on and wipe her sweaty face. But she was mistaken. She woke up suddenly, as if someone punched her guts and she was all alone, bloody and sweaty and shaking from the cold.

She wiped something wet from her eyes, but in the darkness she was in she was unable to tell if it was tears or blood or something else. She was in a cave, the exit quite some meters away. In the exit – a white, blinding hole –sat a dark shape. She recognized the gravity-defying hair in an instant.

"Ka… kashi."

The shape moved. Kakashi turned around, entering the cave, leaving a kagebunshin behind to take over the watch. As he approached her she looked down on herself. She was almost naked. The only thing she wore were the bandages covering her injuries and her underwear. She was covered with the thin emergency blanket she always carried in her medic bag. It was meant to save body warmth, but she was cold like ice.

"Kakashi?"

Her voice was hoarse.

"Where is Sasuke-kun?"

"He got away."

She lowered her head.

He sat down beside her. "How are you?" His voice had that gentle, caring tone she loved. She had never heard him talking to anybody except her like this. "Cold", she answered frankly. He reached for the zipper of his vest and pulled it open. Then he took off his shoes and laid down beside her, lifting the emergency blanket to slip under it as well.

He cradled her in his arms, sharing his warmth with her. Her shaking slowly ceased. "Where are we?", she asked, cuddled to his chest, his hands running up and down her back. "In a cave not far away from the clearing", Kakashi answered quietly. "Sasuke and I had some… controversies about whether or not the two of us should die, so I had some trouble persuading him to leave."

She was silent. They had failed again.

"Don´t deem yourself responsible", Kakashi said. "It wasn´t your fault he trapped you in his genjutsu." "I should have been more careful", she contradicted, her voice strained. "What kind of a medical ninja am I? Shit. Bloody fucking shit..."

He waited a few moments for her to stop cursing under her breath, then he said calmly: "Let´s just agree we´re both responsible. Just as we agreed that this burden is to be carried by both of us, too." "No", she said. "It was me this time."

They both knew she was right. Had she been a little bit more careful and avoided the genjutsu, maybe they wouldn´t have failed.

"We´ll do it next time", he said and gently stroked her cheek. "We just have to hurry while Naruto is kept occupied."

Sakura nodded. "You´re right. Blaming one or the other is pointless."

"That´s right."

They went silent for some time, then she asked: "What are we doing here? Is it still dangerous outside?"

Kakashi shook his head. "But you can´t move with these injuries and the genjutsu drained your chakra, so you can´t heal yourself. The others will come at any minute now, I send Pakkun to get help. Unfortunately, I´m not sure if it´s all too save to run around in the forest with someone injured right now. We don´t know what Sasuke might have left behind."

Another silence followed those words, then he asked: "Warmer now?" Sakura nodded. Her mouth was dry and her tongue felt disgustingly furry. And there were the injuries. All told, she was in no condition whatsoever to do anything more than breathe and snuggle to Kakashi´s warm body.

But the pain she felt the last three days – and yet, she didn´t feel anything at all in reality – made her uneasy, as if her nerves would have gone numb.

"Kakashi?"

She was full of blood and sweat.

"Hm?"

He probably didn´t sleep even a minute the last three days.

"…"

But she needed it. She needed insurance she was still alive, insurance she was still human.

"Make me feel."

Kakashi shifted. "No", he said firmly. "You´re injured and exhausted. And they are probably already in front of the cave to come and help us."

"Hurry then", she said, tugging at the hem of his black shirt.

"You´re crazy", he replied and stopped her hands. "You have been unconscious until now, since I´m no medic you lose blood all the time through your wounds and your lungs are damaged from screaming. And yet you think of-" Cool lips on his own cut him off, followed by a persuasive warm tongue. "You´re so manipulative", he muttered as the parted and he began to carefully remove her undergarments.

"I had the best teacher", she replied and helped him by lifting her hips.

"Why do you want that right now anyway?", he asked. "You´re completely worn out. We don´t have any protection. And since we were on our way since two weeks you didn´t even take the Pill."

"I don´t care", she replied before pulling him down onto her, not caring that some of her wounds opened in the process. "I just need you."

--

One hour later, Shizune and three Chuunin arrived at the cave. They found Kakashi´s kagebunshin and Kakashi and Sakura themselves, snuggled against each other on the emergency blanket which was wet and red from Sakura´s blood.

Shizune healed their wounds and they returned to the village and brought Sakura to the hospital.

Nine months later, Haruno Ikiru was born.

--

PS: They have a child! Ô.Ô They weren´t supposed to… but well, this is how characters do what they like. And a child with Kakashi and Sakura as parents would definitely have the qualities to become Hokage at the age of ten *grin*

PPS: Yes, I _do_ have a thing for putting Sakura into precarious situations.

PPPS: Forgive grammatical errors, I´m not a native speaker.

Toy.


End file.
